Olatunji | Drums of Passion | Vinyl Record

Ajido is a small town in the vicinity of
Badagry in Nigeria, West Africa. It is both a
fishing and trading town. When the rains are
over and the market women have returned
from the monthly markets at Epe, Badagry,
and Lagos, the nets lie idle in the sun to dry
and the voices of women may be heard sing-
ing at the weaving frames. This is the season
when the Zangbetos, the raffia-ed masqueraders
who are the guardians of public morals and
safety, are out. The big drums and the little
drums, made from hollowed trees and the
skins of rams, resound through the nights in
circles of townspeople, and the burning lamps
of clay and palm oil.

This was the Ajido of Babatunde Olatunji's
childhood days. Many a night, Babatunde went
with Tanyin, his great-aunt, to hear the
local
drummers proclaim the coming of a
politician, Alose, as they strutted along the
streets of Ajido, singing:
Ago, 0, mi ja ye
Hail! I am coming
Ponpongba, ponpongba
drum beats
Hail! I am coming
Ago, 0, mi ja ye
Ponpongba, ponpongba
drum beats
Hail! Alose comes
Ago Alose ja e
Arun mna yi Powhe
What dog dare cross
the path of the lion!
Without announcing
Bo no ago ma tho
his intentions
Ago, 0, mi ja ye!
Hail! I am coming!

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